Validating... 
Gluten is something on a lot of people’s minds and lips (figuratively speaking). It seems we can barely peruse the Internet these days without stumbling on a report about the dangers of this substance or hearing that the number of people with a gluten allergy or sensitivity is on the rise. A walk down the snack and baking aisles reveals numerous gluten-free products, and even big chain restaurants and pizza shops are offering gluten-free options.
So what’s going on? Why is it 10 years ago we didn’t hear a peep about gluten and now it seems to be public enemy number one? And just what the heck is gluten anyway?
A Simple Wheat Protein or Something Far More Sinister?
At face value, gluten is simply a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and other processed foods. In fact, it is one of the most heavily consumed proteins on the planet. To get a little science-y on you, gluten is formed when glutenin and gliadin form a bond. This bond is what creates an elastic membrane and gives bread its chewy texture. Without gluten, pizza chefs wouldn’t be able to toss and twirl dough in the air, it would simple fall apart.
About one percent of the population suffers from celiac disease, an allergy to gluten. Even the slightest exposure to gluten can trigger an immune reaction resulting in damage to the brushlike surface of the small intestine. Chronic damage to the lining of the small intestine makes it difficult for people with this disease to absorb vital nutrients from the foods they eat.
Symptoms of celiac disease include:
- unexplained iron-deficiency anemia
- fatigue
- bone or joint pain
- arthritis
- bone loss or osteoporosis
- depression or anxiety
- tingling numbness in the hands and feet
- seizures or migraines
- missed menstrual periods
- infertility or recurrent miscarriage
- canker sores inside the mouth
- an itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis
Gluten intolerance or sensitivity is different from celiac disease and there is increasing evidence that it causes symptoms in people who do not have celiac disease and are not allergic to wheat. Researchers are still unclear as to what is causing this condition, known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS).
While there is currently no medical test to diagnose NCGS, people are often diagnosed with it when they experience certain symptoms after eating gluten.
The most common symptoms of non-celiac gluten sensitivity are:
- mental fatigue (also known as “brain fog”)
- fatigue
- gas, bloating, and abdominal pain
- headache
Humans have been eating gluten for roughly 10,000 years. And until about 10 years ago, no one really talked about gluten sensitivity or claimed to have it. In fact, no one really gave gluten much thought except for the one percent of the population diagnosed with celiac disease. So what changed?
One thing that changed was a new awareness of possible gluten intolerances led by cardiologist Dr. William Davis who wrote the book “Wheat Belly.” In his book, Davis blames gluten for everything from arthritis and asthma to multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia.
David Perlmutter, a neurologist and the author of another of the gluten-free books, “Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar—Your Brain’s Silent Killers,” adds to the anti-gluten sentiment by writing that gluten, “represents one of the greatest and most under-recognized health threats to humanity.’’
That’s a pretty bold statement. But is it true? Is all of this talk about gluten just hype, or is it really harmful to our health?
Why is Wheat Gluten Sensitivity on the Rise?
How could it be that a food staple which, quite literally, sustained humanity for thousands of years could suddenly become toxic to our health? Have we changed, or has the wheat changed?
Many have suggested neither have changed, and that the only thing new to the equation is a heightened awareness. Being gluten sensitive, some would say, is “in” and trendy. But is this true? Have we become a society of gluten hypochondriacs?
Perhaps the answer lies in the blood samples taken 50 years ago from Air Force recruits. A study using frozen blood samples taken from these recruits has shown that wheat gluten intolerance is actually four times more common today than it was in the 1950’s.
So if it’s not hype, and it’s not us, then what has happened to the wheat?
The “Green Revolution”
Back in the 1950s and 60s the world’s wheat crop was transformed with a movement called the “Green Revolution.” This was considered a wonder of modern science and the man who started the movement, Norman Borlaug, actually won the Nobel Peace Prize and was credited with saving one billion lives.
Borlag led the initiatives for the development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains as well as the distribution of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides to farmers. His new and improved species of wheat, along with the complimenting fertilizers and pesticides, resulted in significantly larger yields. This new farming technology was embraced and propagated around the world by companies such as Dupont and Monsanto, and the world breathed a sigh of relief as the answer to world hunger seemed to have been found.
But this “Green Revolution” gave very little thought to human nutrition and the effects of genetically altered food on our health.
Dr. William Davis noted in his book “Wheat Belly,” “this thing being sold to us called wheat—it ain’t wheat. It’s this stocky little high-yield plant, a distant relative of the wheat our mothers used to bake muffins, genetically and biochemically light-years removed from the wheat of just 40 years ago.”
Scientists are now starting to connect the dots and understand that modern wheat is causing a host of chronic digestive and inflammatory illnesses.
[Editor’s note: Inflammation is the cause of all disease, and that inflammation starts in the gut. Whether you think you have a gluten sensitivity or not, chances are modern foods, medications and stress have wreaked havoc on your gut’s health. Here’s a link that will show you exactly how to heal your gut and stop chronic disease.]
Why is our modern wheat making us sick? Because we took something that worked for 10,000 years and tampered with it. We have genetically modified seeds (let’s call them mutant as that term fits), we grow them in soil that is often synthetic, bath them in harmful chemicals, pulverize the resulting plant into a fine dust, and then bleach and chemically treat that dust. This is why gluten is making us sick.
What Can You Do?
Is going gluten-free the answer to this modern dilemma? Yes and no. Most of the gluten-free versions of food sold in grocery stores is just glorified junk food, and there’s really nothing healthy about it. Sure, the gluten was taken out, but check that label, chances are a lot of sugar and other starches, like cornstarch, potato starch (other highly refined products) have been added.
Clearly eating gluten-free garbage disguised as health food is not the answer.
If you truly are on a quest for health, real vibrant health, you have two options: Simply do not consume breads, cereals and other processed food that contain wheat gluten (and do not buy the gluten-free versions either) or make your own bread products from non GMO stone-ground “whole meal” flour.
While both options do not seem ideal to many, the truth is, we are living in a world where our food is often not safe. If health is our true goal, then we have to make some “sacrifices.” What’s a bigger hardship, cutting out certain foods, or living with chronic pain and illness?
There’s food for thought!
4 Comments